Stop for cello end pin

ABSTRACT

A stop for a cello end pin. It comprises a baseplate provided at its outer end with an abutment to receive and be engaged by the end pin of a cello or base violin or any other instrument, and at its inner end it has cord engaging means, and a cord of adjustable length with its free ends extending from the baseplate to the leg or legs of a chair on which the player sits.

United States Patent [72] Inventor Theodore Henkle 240 Broughton St. West, Savannah, Ga.

[2! 1 Appl. No. 18,972

[22] Filed Mar. 12, 1970 [45] Patented Aug. 10, 1971 54] STOP FOR CELLO END PIN 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

[52] US. Cl 84/280, 84/42l, 84/453 [51] Int. Cl 610d 1/02 [50] Field of Search 84/280,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS l 288,179 12/1918 Poehland 84/280 FOREIGN PATENTS 473,853 1914 France 84/280 566,492 I932 Germany 84/280 Primary Examiner-Richard B. Wilkinson Assistant Examiner-John F. Gonzales Atmrm' Allison (I (ollard ABSTRACT: A stop for a cello end pin. it comprises a baseplate provided at its outer end with an abutment to receive and be engaged by the end pin of a cello or base violin or any other instrument, and at its inner end it has cord engaging means, and a cord of adjustable length with its free ends extending from the baseplate to the leg or legs of a chair on which the player sits.

Patented Aug. 10, 1971 37 36 FIG. 6 i\\\\Tf V \m INVENTOR. THEODORE H ENKLE JOHN P. CHANDLER HIS ATTORNEY J 7 STOP FOR CELLO ENu Pin 1 This invention relates to means for securing thesupporting end pin or leg' of a cello, bass or the like, in spaced relation to the chair occupied by the player and has for its principal object the provision of a stop which securely holds the pointed leg of the cello in a, fixed position, which does not scar the floor or penetrate a rug, which is securely connected with the chair on which the player sits and, therefore, cannot move unless the player rises from the chair. The stop means'of the present invention is small and can be carried in the pocket, is compact and light in weight and thus does not add to the considerable burden of carryingthe cello. Suction caps, such as is shown in'U.S. Pat. No. 2,974,556 are, of course, wholly useless on rugs or uneven floors. It is also quite clear that cumbersome mechanical devices, such as are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,288,179 and 9l5,345, leave much to bedesired.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 shows the position of the cello and the cello end pin stop ofthe present invention; FIG. 2 showsthe component parts of the device;

FIG. 3 shows a side elevation ofthe T-shaped spacer;

FIG. 4 is a top view thereof with the cord in place;

FIG. 5 shows a modification in the metallic stop;

FIG. 6 shows another modification.

The cello support of the present invention includes a plate 10 which receives the end pin or pointed leg of the cello and which has an abutment 11 to retain the leg thereon and prevent it from following the natural inclination of the lower end of the cello to move forwardly as a result of the rearwardly inclined position of the upper end and of the downward pressure applied to the cello during playing. This abutment need chair relative to not be of any considerably height because there are no forces present which would cause the pointed leg 12 of the cello 13 to climb over the abutment.

The plate, purely for ornamental purposes, is. shown as being formed in the shape of a cello and can be made from a thin plastic sheeting and an abutment 11 is formed from a second sheet, preferably of metal, and of the same shape as the forward section and having a V-shaped inner edge, facing the player, which receives the end pin of the cello in the root I4 of the V. This end pin may have a rubber cap or a sharp metal point and the metal abutment will resist the constant thrust and digging of the point of the end pin. The plate is connected with the legs 15 and 16 of a chair by means of cords or cables 18 which are preferably adjustable as to length since some cellists are tall and some are short and some cellists sit closer to the body of the cello than others. Also, the structure ofa particular chair may require change in length of the cords. It is desirable to form loops at the ends 19 and 20 of the cord and these loops receive the chair legs. A flat spacer element with holes to receive the cord and form a loop is provided to keep the loop whether taut or loose, above the floor level so that the cord cannot slip out from under the chair leg when the cello stop is in use or inactive. In addition, during the passion of playing the cellist may rock his chair or seek to readjust his chair position and thus inadvertently raise the chair leg and I looped sections 31 this allows the loop to slip out from under the chair leg. Tov

prevent this happening, a flat spacer with a plurality of holes is used, It is shown as a T-shaped member 21. The head 22 ofthe T is somewhat longer than the leg section 23. The terminal section of the cord passes first through a hole 24 in the latter section and thence through a hole 26 in the head, where the cord is now knotted as shown at 28. The loop I9 is formed at the side opposite from the knot.

In the arrangement shown, the plate has two openings 30 and the cord threaded through both openings forming two secured to the plate. One convenient way of adjusting the effective length, the cord sections pass through a slide 32 with two through openings 34. The pair of the cords pass through the openings. By moving the slide closer to the plate, the effective length of the cord structure will be increased and the further away it is positioned the shorter the cord length. Sliders of this type are used to vary the length'ofa cord extending around a player's neck which supports a saxophone. There is normally enough frictional resistance between the ends of the openings 34 and the cord to prevent travel of the slide towards the cello but this resistance can be increased by inserting tapered pins into both openings or by forming the slide in two sections and employing spring means to urge the sections together against the cords. Other means for reducing the length ofa cord may consist in winding the cord around the chair leg.

in the modified form shown in FIG. 5, the upper sheet 11 has an opening 9 to receive a metal insert 13 with a forward flange 17, which is plan view is about the same as that shown in FIG-2. This sheet may be cemented to lower sheet I0 and the metal insert 13, also cemented in place. In the modified form ol'thc invention shown in FIG. 6, a single plate 34 has a sloping recess 35 and receive a plate 3b of the same shape as the shape of the recess, The plate has a vertical flange 37 at its forward end. This flange may also be of the same shapein plan view.

I claim:

1. A fixed stop for a cello end pin which is supported in fixed relation to a chair on which the cello player sits, comprising;

a baseplate provided at its outer end with an abutment to receive and be engaged by the end pin and at its inner end with cord engaging means;

a length of cord extending from at leas one of the legs of said chair to the baseplate;

means for adjusting the effective length of the cord; and

means for securing the cord to least legs in spaced relation to the floor comprising a flat member having a plurality of holes therein through which the cord passes to form a loop which receives the leg, the cord when relaxed or under a measure of tension causing an end of the flat member to engage the floor and thus retain the loop in spaced relation to the floor. 2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said cord engaging means at the inner end of the baseplate comprises at least one opening to receive the cord. 

1. A fixed stop for a cello end pin which is supported in fixed relation to a chair on which the cello player sits, comprising; a baseplate provided at its outer end with an abutment to receive and be engaged by the end pin and at its inner end with cord engaging means; a length of cord extending from at leas one of the legs of said chair to the baseplate; means for adjusting the effective length of the cord; and means for securing the cord to the legs in spaced relation to the floor comprising a flat member having a plurality of holes therein through which the cord passes to form a loop which receives the leg, the cord when relaxed or under a measure of tension causing an end of the flat member to engage the floor and thus retain the loop in spaced relation to the floor.
 2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said cord engaging means at the inner end of the baseplate comprises at least one opening to receive the cord.
 3. The structure of claim 2, wherein the means for adjusting the effective length of the cord comprises a slide with at least one longitudinal opening receiving the length of cord from the baseplate and the terminal sections leading to the flat member.
 4. The structure of claim 2, wherein the abutment is formed by a second, superimposed plate secured to the first plate and having a V-shaped recess.
 5. The structure of claim 2, wherein the plate has a recess and a metallic insert secured therein and has a flange forming the abutment. 